Knowledge Showcases
Information and Communication Technology for the Planet
Highlights
The challenges of the 21st century are daunting: global economic growth per person led by emerging economies and a population that topped 7.3 billion in 2015 put great stress on Earth’s ecosystems, even as the agenda of the Millennium Development Goals remains unfinished. So, the Sustainable Development Goals aim for change at the level of the planet, a veritable seismic shift.
The revolution in information and communication technology (ICT) provides the most powerful tool yet. Properly deployed, directed, and extended, ICT can be a tool for common good and accelerate action on the global goals.
“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small,” said Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the Moon. ICT for the planet can help build sustainable cities and communities, ensure responsible consumption, fortify climate action, conserve and sustainably use life below water, and protect and manage life on land.
November 2016 | Issue 73
Regional | ICT
THE 5 Ps
The 5 Ps
On 25–27 September 2015, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which will guide national actions and development cooperation over the next 15 years.1 The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (and 169 targets) will stimulate action in five areas—the 5 Ps. Citing, •
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People. […] to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment. Prosperity. […] to ensure that all human beings can enjoy prosperous and fulfilling lives and that economic, social, and technological progress occurs in harmony with nature. Planet. […] to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources, and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations. Peace. […] to foster peaceful, just, and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development. Partnership. […] to mobilize the means required to implement this Agenda through a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, based on a spirit of strengthened global solidarity, focused in particular on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable and with the participation of all countries, all stakeholders, and all people.
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE Information and communication technology (ICT) are technologies that facilitate by electronic means the processing, transmission, and display of information: ever faster and cheaper, they condense or elide temporal and spatial distances.
Source: United Nations.
ICT has transformed the financial services, media, retail, and telecommunications sectors; through the globalization it simultaneously feeds on and accelerates, it is now reshaping societies, economies, and governments worldwide. Because ICT can help achieve the global goals’ aspirational, transformational, and universal objectives, four targets of the SDGs refer directly to it.2 But, ICT can without doubt find direct and multiple applications across each SDG: it is an existing and already widely deployed set of technologies that can be mobilized to both boost and scale improvements; it ought to be a crucial enabler, particularly if it helps poorer countries leapfrog development milestones.
___________________ United Nations. 2015. Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. New York. sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ post2015/transformingourworld 2 The related goals are Goal 4: Quality Education; Goal 5: Gender Equality; Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. Implicitly, Goal 17 recognizes ICT as essential to the achievement of all SDGs and their associated targets. 1
ICT FOR THE PLANET “It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small,” said Neil Armstrong. SDGs 11–15 see to the planet: they mean to help build sustainable cities and communities, ensure responsible consumption, fortify climate action, conserve and sustainably use life below water, and protect and manage life on land. Athwart all related actions, ICT can quicken upscaling; cut deployment costs; augment awareness, inclusiveness, and engagement; stimulate connectivity, productivity, efficiency, and innovation; and raise quality.
Related Links • ADB. 2016. Ramping Up ADB’s Role in Information and Communication Technology for Development—ICTD Team Work Plan, 2016–2017. Manila. • ADB. 2016. Road to 2030: Information and Communication Technology in ADB’s Corporate Strategy and Operations. Manila. www.adb.org/projects/documents/helping-transformasia-and-pacific-support-for-adb-new-corporate-strategy-jul2016-dpta
ICT for the Planet (SDGs 11–15) Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable Half the world’s population lives in urban environments. ICT must be relied upon to offer innovative approaches to managing cities more effectively and holistically—through applications such as smart buildings, smart water management, intelligent transport systems, and new efficiencies in energy consumption and waste management. It is vital to use ICT to make cities more eco-friendly and sustainable—not just for the well-being of urban inhabitants but for the planet’s sustainability. Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns ICT can promote sustainable consumption and production through product-specific improvements, increased dematerialization and virtualization, and implementation of smart technologies across sectors—including agriculture, energy, transport, water, and urban. Related ICT applications include cloud computing, smart grids, and smart metering. For instance, energy consumption per appliance, product, or process can be reduced. Still, increased use of ICT means increased energy consumption and direct environmental impacts in materials throughput and end-of-life treatment: policies must ensure negative impacts from ICT are minimized. Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts Key areas for application of ICT include manufacturing, energy, transport, and buildings. ICT can also foster sustainable consumption and greener lifestyles. Elsewhere, it can play a crucial role in sharing climate and weather information, and in forecasting and early warning systems; WRC-12, or the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012, recognized the importance of Earth observation and allocated a new spectrum for oceanographic radars, meteorological–satellite services, and Earth exploration satellite services. The International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector, together with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Meteorological Organization, is also looking at the use of submarine cables for climate monitoring and disaster warning. The Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector is developing best practice to help countries and the ICT sector adapt to the effects of climate change. Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development ICT can play a significant role in the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, notably through improved monitoring and reporting for increased accountability. Satellite-based monitoring delivers timely and accurate data globally, while local sensors deliver on-thespot updates in real time. Big data can be used to analyze short- and long-term trends in biodiversity, pollution, weather patterns, and ecosystem evolution; and plan mitigation activities. Mobile devices—especially mobile broadband-enabled devices—help individuals access information concerning the oceans; and take an active role in discussing environmental issues and monitoring adherence to conservation targets. Goal 15: Protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss ICT can play a significant role in the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, notably through improved monitoring and reporting for increased accountability. Satellite-based monitoring delivers timely and accurate data globally, while local sensors deliver on-thespot updates in real time. Big data can be used to analyze short- and long-term trends in biodiversity, pollution, weather patterns, and ecosystem evolution; and plan mitigation activities. Mobile devices—especially mobile broadband-enabled devices—help individuals access information so they may discuss environmental issues, monitor adherence to conservation targets, and alert law enforcement authorities to illegal activities. ICT = information and communication technology, SDGs = Sustainable Development Goals. Notes: ICT heightens efficiency, enlarges scale, reduces risks, and informs decision making. This table illustrates applications of “ICT for Prosperity” to promote further discussion and research. Source: Adapted from 2016. International Telecommunication Union. www.itu.int/
KNOWLEDGE CONTRIBUTOR Olivier Serrat (oserrat@adb.org) is a principal knowledge management specialist in ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department. The Knowledge Showcases Series highlights good practices and innovative ideas from ADB technical assistance and other operations to promote further discussion and research. www.adb.org/knowledgeshowcases
ADB is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of ADB or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO) © 2016 ADB. The CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. Corrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda Publication Stock No.: ARM168520-2 pubsmarketing@adb.org